Big News!

Good Morning! It's been a relaxing Thursday morning for me. I work at 11 but I decided to take this morning off from exercising. I'm feeling pretty sore from earlier workouts this week. I am hoping to make it to yoga after work and then run, but it all depends on my evening plans. My mom and sister are going to the mall- she's having her high school senior pictures taken tomorrow- and I might tag along. I don't have much desire to go, but it's always nice to shop with moms ;)

For breakfast I had coffee and swiss oats. I made this by soaking the oats overnight with soy milk, cinnamon, dried cherries, and pecans. In the morning I mix it with low fat plain yogurt and banana slices. This is such a great breakfast during the summer. It's filling, yet cool and light.

For lunch I packed leftovers from Monday night's Caramelized Tofu with brown rice, pecans and broccoli. I can't wait to dig-in!

My snacks throughout the day include: baby carrots, plain yogurt, 2 pluots (plum-apricot hybrid), and a banana cookie lara bar. I'm not sure if I'll eat all of the snacks but I want to be prepared if hunger strikes, especially if I go to the mall.

BIG NEWS!

I was offered a full-time job working as a weightloss consultant at a local clinic!!!!! I won't know full details until my training starts August 4th, but after meeting with the director I can say I am excited! This company seems to have a great philosophy on food and weightloss, taking a lifestyle approach to health and wellness as opposed to a quick-fix diet. When I know more, I'll share details with you all! I cannot wait to start!

This has been a very hot and humid week here in Minnesota. Today is no exception. We're expecting storms today and I would guess sooner than later since the sky is already dark. I guess it's a good day to be working inside a coffee shop! Have a wonderful Thursday!

A trip down memory lane

Hey guys. Sorry for the late post. I didn't have a whole lot to report this morning so I waited to post both my breakfast and lunch at once.

Breakfast

I was still full from my delicious dinner last night so I wanted something light for breakfast. It was pretty mild out this morning so I had a smoothie. It was berry good! Sorry I couldn't resist ;0)

Berry Good Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 banana
• 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 scoop Kashi GoLean! Vanilla protein powder

Breakfast totals: 290 calories, 4g fat, 17g fiber,14 g protein

Although this breakfast was a lot less calories than normal, it did a good job of holding my hunger for about 4.5 hours. I got pretty hungry around 11, but I just had a big glass of ice cold water.

Lunch

I didn't bring a lunch today because I had a few errands to run around Grand Ave. during lunch. Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped at Whole Foods for a salad. Amazingly, I came out of WF with just the salad and a new item to try. I wanted to buy a lot more things, but I knew the groceries were going to be sitting in the warm car all afternoon so I refrained. I ate this salad in my car so I could take advantage of the great weather with the sunroof open and windows down.




Salad Ingredients:

• Lettuce Mix
• Shredded red & green cabbage
• Raw cauliflower
• Roasted artichokes
  
• Grilled portabella, corn, and spinach salad
• Marinated mushrooms
  
• Curry chicken and chickpea couscous
  

The highlight of this salad was the curry couscous. It was so delicious, I wish I would have gotten more! I'm going to have to recreate this at home. The roasted artichokes and marinated mushrooms were really really good as well. Usually, I really like grilled portabellas, but something about the texture of these made me want to gag. I hate wasting food but I couldn't eat them. I ate everything else though.

Close up of the plump marinated mushroom.

After my lovely lunch I went to UST to buy a graduation present for my former roomie. She's an accounting major so her degree took an extra year. I forgot just how much parking sucks. After looking for a good 10 minutes for a parking spot on the street I didn't find one so I took a risk and parked in the lot. If I remember correctly, you don't need a parking permit during finals week. I hadn't been on campus since last year at graduation. It felt so weird to be walking across the quad.

I browsed through the bookstore before buying an alumni sweatshirt for my friend and a cute baseball cap for myself. I wanted to buy a couple of t-shirts, but I'm trying to be more mindful of my spending.

Speaking of being mindful with money, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop and bought an iced coffee with a splash of soy and a bran muffin. I am so addicted to these. It's a good thing I don't live close by anymore.





These muffins are fat free and low calorie. But low cal is a subjective thing so I have no idea what to estimate. Two years ago when the coffee shop first opened, they were advertised as 150 calories. Well they have for sure grown in size. I asked the girl at the counter if she had nutrition information and all she had was the ingredients list. I should have asked to see it but I felt bad because she was alone and there were people in line behind me. I know they are freshly made there...but if they are fat free and low calorie, it makes me wonder what the heck are in these. They are so good, but maybe too good to be true?

This afternoon I felt like I was in college again- running around campus, grabbing a salad at Whole Foods, and picking up a coffee and muffin at Coffee Bene. It was a nice trip down memory lane. Sometimes I really miss the life of a college student, minus the stress.


It has taken me 2 hours to finish this post. Insane amount of phone calls are to blame!

Feelin' Fresh

Sorry for the late dinner post, I had a busy evening and got caught up watching tv. Monday nights are my new favorite t.v. night. There are 4 shows I like! I rarely get a chance to watch them all. Usually, I just watch Medium with my parents and tivo the rest to watch throughout the week. I really want to watch some of the other shows now...but I should get to bed.

My snack today was a Cherry Pie Lara bar. Really, really bad picture.

This flavor was good, but not as good as the Cashew Cookie. It was kinda of tart and really sticky! It did wonders on my hunger because I ate it at 4:30 and didn't eat dinner until 8:30. This little bar fueled me through a short run and sweaty yoga session. I wasn't even that hungry for dinner.

As soon as I got home I ran into my room and changed into my workout clothes. I didn't want to get too comfortable and not workout.

I had made up my mind that I was finally going to try the new yoga studio by my house. YogaFresh offers a free week pass to new students. I'm not meeting with my running group this week because we are in between sessions so this is the perfect week to take advantage of the free classes.

I had about half an hour to kill before class and I knew if I stayed at home I would get lazy. Since the yoga studio is next to a lake, I warmed up by running around it. Even though, I live pretty close by, I had never been around this lake. It took me about 16 minutes to get around it. According to Map My Run, it's about 1.65 miles around.

Yoga was AWESOME. Tonight's class was called Yoga Sculpt. The instructor incorporated resistance bands into some of the poses for a stronger upper body workout. The studio was heated to a balmy 90 degrees. It got super hot in there, by the end of class my clothes were soaking wet (gross, I know). But I loved it and felt so great afterwards.

I am so happy I finally gave this studio a try. The instructor was great and walked around class adjusting our positions to make sure we were doing it right. Some people might not like this, but I actually like the instructor correcting my posture. I want to be sure I am doing the poses the right way. This was my first experience at a real yoga studio. I've been practicing yoga on and off since high school, but usually I take classes at my gym or do DVDs at home. I loved the atmosphere and coziness of this studio. I will definitely be taking advantage of the free week.

I jumped in the shower as soon as I got home since I was so sweaty. I wanted to be fresh and clean while enjoying my dinner.

My mom made a spinach, carrot and feta salad, brown rice, and a Mexican dish called Picadillo. Basically, it's lean ground beef with potatoes, green peppers, onions, beans, and some spices. I don't care for red meat but this is one of the only beef dishes I can eat because of all the flavors in it. I like the big potato chunks the best.

Instead of watching tv, I think I'm going to read in bed before falling asleep. It's much more relaxing and I have lots of good books waiting to be read! Night everyone!

Saturday Recap & Mother's Day Brunch

I apologize for not posting last night, but it was such a hectic day. I left my house at 11:30 in the morning and didn't get back home until 2 am. This morning I was up around 9:30, but I'm starting to feel tiredness creeping on.

Saturday Recap

Despite my late breakfast, I was starving on the way to my cousin's graduation. Thankfully, I always try to carry emergency snacks in my purse so I had a Clif Nectar cacao bar.

It's made from organic dates, organic walnuts, organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cocoa, and organic vanilla. These are SO good! I loved it. If you like dark chocolate, then you will love this bar. It did a great job of getting rid of my hunger and holding it for a few hours.

The ceremony was quick, only lasting about an hour and a half. It's a great accomplishment for anyone who graduates from college, but it is especially exciting for my cousin because he is from Mexico City. To come to another country and study at a university level, especially when English is not your native language, is an inspiring achievement.

After the ceremony we went to a "Mexican" restaurant for dinner. I was really hungry again by this point so I ate too many chips and salsa :( The worst part about it, is that the chips weren't even good. I definitely think they were store bought. We order pitchers of Sangria for the table. This Sangria was really good. I hate when you order Sangria and it is super sweet and you can't even taste the wine. You could actually taste the wine in this.

Red wine Sangria

I ordered the cilantro lime grilled fish tacos (mahi-mahi) with black beans, salsa, lettuce, and secret sauce in corn tortillas. They weren't bad but I wish I had asked what the secret sauce was before ordering because it was made out of sour cream. It was almost impossible to take it off so I just popped some enzyme pills. I also had a few bites of my parent's mint chip ice cream to "cleanse" my palate.

Around 8:30, I finally made it to my friend's birthday party for a few drinks and games. I wasn't in the mood to drink, so after one cocktail I stuck with water for the rest of the night. I had a piece of birthday cake too. We had many laughs playing card games and charades. I got home pretty late but it was great to see all my close friends.

Birthday girl

Mother's Day Brunch

My aunt and uncle live in Madison, Wisconsin which is about 4 hours away. So last night after the graduation they back to our house for the night. This morning my dad made brunch for everyone. I didn't want eggs with ham, so I attempted to make an egg white omelette with spinach, salsa, and soy cheese. Well my omelette stuck, so it turned into scrambled egg whites. Since I had already added the salsa, the eggs looked pink. Honestly, I was disgusted by the way it looked. I almost didn't eat it but I didn't want to be wasteful. It was hard to get past the looks, but it tasted alright. On my plate I also had whole grain toast, black beans, and fresh pineapple.

Last but not least, I made a Strawberry Shortcake this morning. This is my mom's favorite cake so I knew I had to make it for her today. This cake was devoured by the eight of us! I'll post the recipe in a separate post.

Strawberry Shortcake

I'm spending time with my mom this afternoon. We don't have much planned except for a long walk with Brody. I need to get an outdoor run in today but it's really windy outside so I might have to save it for tomorrow or run on the treadmill.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Mother's Day and enjoying time with their moms!

Still a Very Tired Girl

Ah, another busy afternoon that flew by!

Recap:

I had planned a healthy, fresh lunch consisting of a hummus sandwich and pear. Instead, I went out to lunch with my coworkers to celebrate one of their birthdays. Vietnamese food isn't my favorite but I felt bad turning down the invite so I went along.

We ended up ordering a bunch of food for the table to share. I don't really know the names of the dishes but there was a little of everything: egg rolls, spring rolls, egg drop soup, beef lo mein, garlic beef, spicy chicken, sesame shrimp, sweet and sour chicken and pork, and some other similar things. Although a lot of the dishes contained meat, for the most part they were served with fresh vegetables. I filled my plate with as many vegetables as possible but I did have samples of most dishes except for the pork. The spicy chicken was really good. I usually don't like egg rolls but this place is known for theirs so I tried one. It was good as far as egg rolls go. Overall, not the healthiest lunch but I think I handled myself fairly well. I'm glad I went because they are a fun group of people. Most of them are in their 20s so it's a young, energetic office. I'm actually going to miss working there once they hire a new receptionist.

Lunch left me full for hours, but around 4:30 I was feeling like I needed an energy burst so I had the other half of the Lara bar from earlier in the week.

I really liked this bar. I need to pick up more at the store.

I skipped the gym this afternoon. I felt guilty but I had no energy to go there after work. I have no idea why I was so tired today. When I got home I was hungry again so I ate a pear.

Then, I decided to bake chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies to bring into work tomorrow.

Combined with the bowl licking and sampling the freshly baked cookies, I had no appetite for dinner. I knew I needed to eat something other than cookies so I just had a small salad. My mom made this delicious salad by slicing strawberries and tossing them with spinach and a pear champagne dressing from Trader Joe's.

Time for bed, tomorrow is Friday so I'm not complaining. Hopefully tomorrow, I will have more interesting things to report. Night ya'll.

Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado

Wow, another winning recipe from EDBV. I have yet to try a recipe I did not like from Dreena. She is an amazing cook who knows what people like. This lasagna was no exception.

But before we get to dinner, I tried a new product this afternoon...

After work, I ran a couple of errands with my mom. It took longer than expected and we didn't get home until almost 7. On the way home I was starving. I was torn as to what to do because I knew I would be having dinner soon but I knew I needed something to hold me over. I remembered I had a Cashew Cookie Lara Bar in my purse. This was my first experience with a Lara Bar and I really liked it. Chewy and dense. The ingredients in this particular flavor are just cashews and dates, nothing else. I wanted to eat the whole thing but I didn't want to ruin my appetite so I only ate half.

This bar was great because I didn't get hungry again until dinner was ready. I'll definitely be buying more of these and trying new flavors.

Now, on to dinner!

As soon as I came home I ran into the kitchen and began prepping for the meal. I had been looking forward to this recipe all day to satisfy my craving for Mexican food. A big plus is that this lasagna can be assembled quickly and bakes in about 30 minutes.

The recipe calls for tomato sauce, onions and spices, but I used a jar of roasted tomato salsa from Trader Joe's. I mixed the salsa with chipotle sauce, garlic and black beans. In a shallow glass pan, I alternated layers of the salsa-black bean mixture with corn tortillas, avocado, corn, and lime juice. I finished with the other half of the salsa mixture and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top. I decided real cheese would be the best to use since my mom and sister would be eating this lasagna. I didn't eat any of the cheese on my piece though. I covered the pan with aluminum foil and put it in a 400* oven. After 20 minutes, I uncovered the lasagna and let the cheese melt for another 7 minutes.

While the lasagna was baking, I had a glass of wine, an Argentinean Malbec. My friend Meghan gave me this HUGE wine glass for Christmas. I love wine, in case you haven't noticed ;)

We made a quick spring mix and tomato salad tossed with homemade Italian dressing.

The lasagna came out of the oven after about 25 minutes.

We cut this lasagna into 6 huge squares. I used a bigger pan than the recipe called for so the slices weren't too thick, yet my serving was really filling. I almost couldn't finish it...but it was delicious so I did. Oh I should mention, I scraped the cheese off my serving so I wouldn't have a stomachache tonight.

I was looking forward to dessert all day but my stomach is really full. My mind wants dessert but tonight I'm listening to my stomach, and it's full so no dessert for this girl. There's always tomorrow.

Pure Bliss

Earlier this afternoon I had an amazing hour and a half run. I discovered new parts of Woodbury that in my 12 years of living here, I had never seen. Woodbury has a lot of connecting trails so it's nice for long runs. The trail I was on today went through a nature reserve so I got to see some wildlife. I felt such tranquility just living in the moment and listening to the water running down the creek and the birds chirping. It was perfecting running weather too. Sunny, slight breeze and mid 60s. I felt really strong during my run so I feel better about the upcoming half-marathon. 

When I got home I was really thirsty and craving a smoothie. This smoothie was so refreshing, it hit the spot. 

plain yogurt + vanilla almond milk + frozen peaches + frozen strawberries

I'm also really happy because I found out my boyfriend is coming home next weekend. He is still in school and goes to University of MN Duluth. It's about 2 1/2 hours away so we only get to see each other every 3 weeks or so. Next weekend we are having a bbq for my friend's birthday. I'm already excited for next weekend!! :)

Too Much of a Good Thing

My parents are getting home tonight so that means my sister and I have been trying to clean/ straighten up the house. My mom is a neat freak so when she's gone, things tend to get not as neat. In order not to make a bigger mess, dinner was leftovers again.

Honey Mustard Chicken on a whole grain bun with

grilled zucchini and red cabbage on the side.

Then came the craving for something sweet. Yesterday I made a batch of my signature cookie- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Melties. These are so good they practically melt in your mouth. So I had one...and then another, and another and well you get the point. I took a picture of the first one, but it didn't turn out. I can't handle myself around these cookies so I need to be done baking for awhile!

Afternoon

I had a Clif Z bar, Honey Graham flavor at work and half of a grapefruit as a pre-workout snack. The grapefruit tasted extra good, it was juicy and hit the spot.

I went for a 2.5 mile run around the lake in front of my house. It was cold (39 degrees!) but besides the wind, it was actually nice running weather. Back home, I did some toning exercises using a balance ball and a resistance band. I tried the DVD that came with the balance ball and band. It has three 20 minute segments: Lower Body, Upper Body, and Core. It was pretty decent for a lighter workout and gave me some new ideas.

My parents are due home within the next hour, I better finish up!

Almost done!

I'm glad the end of work is near since I'm finding it difficult to sit indoors and be productive on such a beautiful day.

For lunch I had plain yogurt with kiwi, a hummus-veggie pita, and a few baby carrots. The pita was falling apart because it was one of those small ones and I stuffed it too full! Oops.


For an afternoon snack (and excuse to get outside!) I went to my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Bene. I LOVE this cafe. It is located right by St. Thomas' campus and I used to walk there almost everyday when I lived in the neighborhood. I miss living there. Of course, when I lived there I always wished I was living back in the suburbs. Sigh, I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

My love affair with Coffee Bene started when I discovered their fat free, low calorie bran muffins (they have awesome coffee too). I had these for breakfasts several times a month during college. The thing about bran muffins is that they are either too dry or full of fat. But these are moist, dense and delicious. I have no idea how they make them so big and dense, yet low cal. They remind of Trader Joe's bran muffins, but taste much better.

Look at the size of this thing...


Because this muffin is so dense and heavy it fills you up almost instantly and thanks to the fiber, keeps you full for a long time. I also had an iced coffee with a splash of soy milk to wash it down.


My stomach is very full right now, but happy.

Finally Full

I am in a fabulous mood. I went outside during lunch and it feels amazing. It's a wonderful sunny 75 degrees. It was so hard to come back to work, but at least I was able to get out for a bit.

The smoothie from this morning didn't hold me over very long. I wasn't exactly hungry, but my stomach wasn't satisifed. I am definitely a volume eater and need my oats in the morning. I made a quick bowl of oats- apples, cinnamon, raisins, and almond milk. It was wonderfully creamy. Almond milk is my new favorite!


I thought this would hold my hunger until 2:30ish but I started getting hungry at 1. Since I was craving a big, fresh salad, I went to Byerly's, a local gourmet grocery store.


The base for this salad was spring baby mix, shredded romaine, and baby spinach. I topped it off with shredded carrots, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green peppers, cucumbers, kidney beans, garbanzos, and a wheatberry salad. I splashed some aged balsamic to finish it off. With the salad I had a whole grain roll and an iced unsweetened green tea with mint.


My stomach is finally satisified.

I need to go to the grocery store tonight because we are running super low on food. I need to plan meals for the week so I know what to buy. Any recipe suggestions?

Happy Friday

It is a dreary, rainy spring afternoon here in the Twin Cities but I'm happy because it's FRIDAY! Last night I went out with my friends because the Minnesota Wild are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so we wanted to watch the game at a bar. Bad idea to be at a bar without having dinner. I ended up getting a huge red wine sangria. It was delicious but made me dive into the appetizers: nachos, boneless buffalo wings, and crsipy fiesta quesadilla things. The food wasn't even that great but since I was hungry I ate anyway. Blah, my stomach was not happy with me. At least I got to see my friends, that's always fun.

This morning I was starving when I got up despite the late night food. I made a big bowl of my usual oats but I changed it up a bit. I used a cup of Unsweetend Vanilla Almond Milk and added in a tablespoon each of raisins and sliced almonds. These extra toppings added great texture and of course flavor that I really enjoyed! This breakfast was a little bigger than usual but it kept me full until lunch without a snack.

Today I went to Panera for lunch. I like Panera because it's one of those places were you can find a relatively healthy lunch. Inspired by Kath's lunch yesterday I ordered the Salmon salad with wheatberries and meyer lemon dressing with whole grain bread. I only used one of the dressing containers. I nibbled on some of the bread in the car on the way back.




I'm planning on having one of these for my snack before I run at 4:30.


I love this Chocolate Coconut flavor!

I've had a headache all morning... I'm not sure why...maybe from last night? Let's hope it's gone by the time I have to run.

Spring is here

I've been jobless for about 2 weeks. My body finally started getting used to not waking up at 6:30. The last few days I've been able to make it to 8am! Well this morning I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:30 again because -exciting news- I am no longer unemployed! It's only temporary while my parents hire a new receptionist, but hey it's money so I won't complain. Anyways, as soon as I got out of bed I went upstairs to get a big mug of coffee. I like drinking coffee while I get ready because it helps to wake me up as opposed to waiting to drink it with breakfast. For breakfast I had the usual Almond butter-Banana Oats.

The office where I'll be working for the next few weeks is about 20 minutes away from my house. Not bad, but considering the sales office (where I do accounting work) is only 5 minutes away, this is a longer commute. To save on gas my mom and I decided to ride together. Answering phones from 8-5 sounds like it would be a long day, right? Surprisingly the day has flown by. This office is BUSY. The phone constantly rings! I ate my lunch quickly in between phone calls. I had a salad with a bunch of veggies and turkey, kashi crackers, and an apple.

The weather is gorgeous out there. The last few days have been warm temps but the strong winds made it feel chilly. Today it finally feels like spring has arrived. Luckily, I had a chance to break away for half an hour for a coffee break! I've been craving something cold and creamy lately. I gave in today and bought a coffee cooler from Caribou. These things are so good. They are just like Frappuccinos but better. Actually I don't really like Frappuccinos that much. But coolers on the other hand, yum! The vanilla is my absolute favorite. When I was in high school I would buy them almost everyday. Even though I get the "lite" coolers now, I still only have them once in awhile in the summer as a treat.

I decided to celebrate the first day of warmth with one.

I also had a Chocolate Chip Z bar as a snack.

I am so excited to finally be able to run outside today. Yesterday we had to run on the treadmills since it was so windy.

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Last weekend for my friend's bridal shower I made mango salsa. I had a ton leftover in the fridge so I decided to use it up by broiling tilapia and topping it with the salsa. It was a simple, light meal packed with flavor.In a shallow glass pan I layered the tilapia and added the juices of one lime and half a lemon, salt, pepper, and chipotle sauce. The tilapia went into the oven for about 20 minutes, covered with aluminum. I uncovered it for another 10 minutes and then finally turned the oven on broil for another 5 minutes, for a total of 35 minutes.

The mango salsa was super easy as well. I made it over a week ago but here's what I did. I chopped a bag of frozen mango chunks into small pieces and tossed them with 1/4 of a red onion, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and chipotle sauce. The last time I made this salsa, I left it as is. It looked beautiful on the fish. However, for the bridal shower I blended the

salsa because I thought it would be easier to dip chips this way. It doesn't look as pretty on the fish but it still tasted great.

Tilapia with mango salsa, brown rice, and a glass of Chardonnay:

This afternoon I had a Kashi granola bar before my workout. I ended up walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes before strength class. I wanted to run outside but even though it was beautiful out, it was windy!

After the class, I had a Blueberry Banana Shake from the gym. I think I might be addicted to these shakes. They are so good!

I can't believe it's already past 10 p.m.! I am ready for bed...goodnight!